How can humanitarian and development donors and implementers
collaborate across historically divided aid bureaucracies with siloed tools, funding cycles, decision-making
processes and incentive structures? In response to this global call for durable solutions, a few organisations
are working on practical approaches in protracted crises and refugee contexts. The following thought piece highlights Mercy Corps’ learning from one such systemic approach — market systems
development (MSD) — which focuses on the widespread impact local businesses and market institutions have on
their communities over the long-run. This approach has risen to the forefront of many humanitarian-development
debates because markets are a key back drop — and flashpoint — for relief and development programs. Building off the experience of a 12-month market systems development pilot responding to the latest influx of
South Sudanese refugees in Uganda’s West Nile region, this paper reflects on the operational challenges and
learning questions teams face when designing, implementing and evaluating market programmes in the context
of wider relief efforts.While these reflections represent the experience of one team, in one location, they speak to
broader themes in the ongoing global debates around coherence and self-reliance. With the goal of informing
future strategies and practice, both internally and externally, experiences like the one shared here bring our
humanitarian and development colleagues together in the same room to reflect on what coherence looks like
in practice. While this may take many forms depending on the context and poses some significant technical
questions, these challenges make the call to action more compelling and reinforce our commitment to
supporting long-term solutions for crisis-affected populations.